Music History Today: July 31, 2020

July 31, 1971: James Taylor scored his only Billboard Number 1 record with the Carole King written "You've Got A Friend."

On the chorus of “Fire And Rain,” his 1970 breakout single, James Taylor sings, “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” 

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Carole King heard that line about not being able to find a friend. And as a response, she wrote “You’ve Got A Friend,” a sweet and undemanding song about total empathy, about promising to always be around to help someone else out. So James Taylor didn’t write “You’ve Got A Friend,” but he did have something to do with it coming into being.  

Read more: Stereogum

July 31, 1964: Martha & the Vandellas released the single "Dancing In The Street."

It’s often described as a political statement; a sign of America’s mid-60s uprising that was driven by inequality and the fight for civil rights.

Martha and the Vandellas

But ʻDancing In The Street’ was not sung by a religious leader or a nascent Black Panther.  It was sung by Martha And The Vandellas, three hard-working young women from Detroit.

Read more: U Discover Music

July 31, 1968: Tommy James & the Shondells rocked the U.K. with the Number 1 song "Mony Mony."

In 1968, Tommy James & the Shondells were working on a promising new song, which was more or less complete, but James was struggling for a title. 

He had considered Sloopy or Bony Maroney, but thought they sounded stupid. They tried in vain, until James went outside, looked up and saw the Mututal of New York building. Its initials were illuminated in red at the top, and James had his ‘eureka!’ moment. Also credited to singer-songwriter Bobby Bloom, Mony, Mony was, as I said, the raunchiest UK number 1 for some time.  

Read more: Every UK Number One

July 31, 1982: Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" was  Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cashbox Best Sellers chart.

The title track of Survivor’s third album became the biggest hit song of 1982. Eye Of The Tiger topped the US singles chart for seven straight weeks, and brought the melodic hard rock band from Chicago a Grammy and an Oscar nomination. 

Survivor’s creative linchpins were guitarists, composers, and producers Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik, but it was Sylvester Stallone who made Survivor stars. Impressed by the band’s first couple of hits, the movie star/director sounded out his friend, Scotti Bros label boss Tony Scotti, to see if Survivor would help with the soundtrack to the upcoming Rocky III.  

Read nore:  Louder Sound

July 31, 1984: Bruce Springsteen released his single "Cover Me."

"Cover Me" is a Gold-certified 1984 hit song, written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen.  

It was the second single released from his 1984 album, Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen wrote the song for Donna Summer. However, his manager, Jon Landau, decided the song had hit potential, and so he kept it for the upcoming Springsteen album.  

Read more:  Wikipedia

You've Got A Friend
James Taylor